Chapter 218 (1/2)
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A wide circular floor.
This hardened floor suddenly became pitch-black. Up until only a few moments ago, the floor had been acting as a massive mirror that reflected someone’s figure.
“We lost them,” a gravelly and abrasive voice resounded.
“Find them again,” someone then replied.
“We need more time. Rather cleverly, he eliminated all the ‘eyes’ in one attack. We need time if we are to recover our sight.”
“How long?”
That question was met by an answer coming from another direction.
“It’s being prepared as we speak. Five minutes should suffice.”
“Still too long.”
Five minutes was more than enough to leave the location and escape from their pursuit. A normal human might not be able to go more than a handful of meters, but that man, he was no ordinary human at all.
On top of this, that man was even accompanied by a dragon.
Until the “eyes” were repaired, it was impossible to tell the distance that the man and child would manage to cover or the direction they might flee to.
“Do whatever it takes to find them.”
That ominous voice came from a huge Lich standing in the middle as it kept staring at the mirror on the floor.
“Even if we have to burn the whole continent down.”
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Swoosh—
Miru, flying above the clouds, rapidly traveled in one direction.
Su-hyeun was riding on the back of his red dragon while holding Roy’s waist tightly. Getting scared by this would not have been surprising, but the boy did not even utter a single complaint other than narrowing his eyes from the harsh buffeting of winds.
“Let’s go down.”
Gya-ong—!
Miru heard Su-hyeun’s command and leaned its body to head toward the ground.
They emerged below the clouds to be greeted by a completely different scenery. The mountains they used to be in only a few minutes ago were already small dots in the distance.
Su-hyeun and Roy climbed off from Miru’s back. Then, as a sign of his appreciation, Su-hyeun patted Miru’s back and head before feeding the dragon some dried meat.
Roy staggered a little, perhaps feeling dizzy from the rapid flight, before recovering his bearings and asking a question. “Why did we come down? We were moving really fast, weren’t we?”
“It’s dangerous to be up in the sky.”
“How so?”
“It’s easier to get discovered up there. Even if it’s a bit slower, moving on the ground is better. Also, although Miru and I are confident enough about protecting ourselves if we get attacked in the air, we can’t guarantee your safety, you see.”
“Is that so?”
“If you get it, then let’s get going already. According to what you said, we need to walk the whole day to…”
“Why are you protecting me?”
Roy’s question stopped Su-hyeun’s feet from taking another step. The latter then lowered his gaze to look at the boy staring up at him.
“Uncle, you don’t really have a reason to protect me. You aren’t even a dead person, too…”
“You’re right. I’m a living person.”
“Yes. And you’re not a family member either.”
Roy’s words made some sense.
It was indeed rather suspicious. A man he had never seen before rescued him from the hands of the dastardly Lichs, provided him protection from the enemies, and even offered to escort him home.
It certainly would be difficult to believe, especially when one lived a life similar to Roy’s.
The thing was, though, Su-hyeun’s thought process was a lot simpler compared to Roy’s.
“Well, it’s not like I don’t have a reason, but…”
If it wasn’t for the trial, Su-hyeun would have never met Roy.
To begin with, he was not someone from this world, and without these trials, he would not have a reason to run into the Lichs either.
However…
“It’s not like such a thing is a must, you know?”
Grab—
Su-hyeun grabbed Roy by his waist and then placed the boy on Miru’s back.
“Not every adult in the world is bad, you see. An act of kindness without the promise of a reward does exist in this world.”
If this was not a trial, would he have taken the same actions?
He asked himself that brief question and arrived at the answer quite easily.
Indeed, he would have.
He didn’t have any other reasons. He didn’t even need a reason, anyway.
“If you really want a reason, well, you’re still a kid, that’s why.”
“Because I’m a kid?”
“That’s right. At least until you grow up, it’s the job of the adults to protect you so that you get the chance to become an excellent adult yourself and go on to create a better world than this one.”
“An excellent adult…”
“Right, an excellent adult. Like this big bro of yours.”
The earnest words that also contained a bit of humor caused Roy to form a rather serious expression. “I’ll… think about it.”
Just what would he be even thinking about? Su-hyeun thought but didn’t pry any further.
He knew that Roy was rather unique, but it seemed that there was something more to the child than that.
“Let’s go.”
Gya-ong—
At Su-hyeun’s prompt, Miru began trudging forward. Thankfully, there were plenty of trees that could hide them, so moving around with the red dragon had not been a big problem.
Even if I eliminated all the eyes, it wouldn’t be possible to move around undetected forever.
Lichs were rather good at tracking someone down.
Their magic didn’t even miss the smallest hints of traces, and they had the necessary ability to scour every corner of the continent with nothing but a small trace.
Most likely, Su-hyeun wouldn’t be able to keep moving under the radar forever. Although it would get annoying, the confrontation with the Lichs was unavoidable.
Of course, that didn’t mean he felt scared by the prospect or anything like that.
If it’s not in the air but on the ground…
Su-hyeun glanced back at the mountain that served as the Lichs’ base as a smirk formed on his lips.
It doesn’t matter how many. Let them come.
Act 10
Tumble, tumble—
Bang—!
A Death Knight’s body was shattered into pieces and fell to the ground.
Bleached bones littered the surroundings. Su-hyeun tossed aside a sword he took away from the Death Knight and spoke.
“You thought this would be enough?”
There were hundreds of skeletons—ten or so of Lichs and even dozens upon dozens of Death Knights.
They hid underground and suddenly sprung out to attack without warning. But even then, the size of the combat force was already inadequate against him.
Su-hyeun brought the Lich that he grabbed closer to his face. The body made of nothing but bones was currently limp, but its soul still remained within.
“I don’t know who you are, but you’re still watching, aren’t you?” Su-hyeun asked while looking straight into the hollow eye sockets of the Lich.
Su-hyeun never believed that these bastards that showed up today were the real deal.
Most likely, the one who sent these Lichs, Death Knights, and skeletons was watching the proceedings from afar through yet another set of eyeballs.
“If you want to take Roy away, you better come here personally. Stop believing that these small fries can do the job for you. If not…”
Squeeze—